Late Monday evening, we were in the process of closing the shelter for the day when a woman approached one of our employees with a box of nine two-day old kittens. The mom cat was nowhere in sight, and the woman was adamant that she could not take them. For those who have never cared for neonatal kittens, or “bottle babies,” the chance of their survival at this age without their mother is about 1 in 5. Additionally, it can be incredibly risky to attempt to unite the kittens with another mom cat, as she could potentially harm the babies. With limited options, we knew that if we didn’t care for these babies, they wouldn’t make it through the night, so we chose to take them and try our best to help them grow.
Thus, the group, “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Litter” was born. Our foster coordinator and three other staff members agreed to take in these babies for the night. The kittens were delivered to the staff member’s homes with emergency supplies, and they quickly got to work syringe feeding them and hoping they would make it until morning.
Each tiny kitten was tucked into their crates with blankets, a heating disc, and a stuffed toy that mimics their mom’s heartbeat. Every two hours, our staff members dutifully fed and care for them, sharing photos and updates of their tiny babies as the night progressed. When morning arrived, every bottle baby had made it through the night!
While we hope to report that each baby is healthy, happy, and in a loving foster home, the sad reality is that it is unlikely that these kittens will survive without their mother. Despite the odds, we are so proud of our team who are trying their best to care for these kittens. The sisterhood rotates nights where they care for the babies, then comes together during the day to all help. In situations like this, it truly takes a village to care for our animals.
We are incredibly grateful to have such a compassionate care community, from our staff to our fosters, who are willing to provide round-the-clock care for our bottle babies.
If you’re interested in helping these bottle babies and the many other young kittens that we care for, we are currently running critically low on KMR kitten formula. You can donate by clicking this link to our Amazon Wishlist!
